Energy-absorbing camel



Oct. 8, 1968 E G, CUNNEV 3,404,534

ENERGY-ABSOHBING CAMEL I NVEN TOR.

Get. 8, 1968 E, G. CUNNEY 3,404,534

` ENERGY-ABSORBING CAMEL Filed April 17, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. IDW/M0 6. UAM/y United States Patent Office 3,404,534 ENERGY-ABSORBING CAMEL Edward G. Cunney, 335 Bane Road, Mitchell Field, Garden City, N.Y. 11530 Filed Apr. 17, 1967, Sel'. No. 632,155 s Claims. (Cl. tsl-4s) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention is an energy-absorbing camel in the form of at least three wooden poles arranged parallel to each other. The poles are spaced from each other by a plurality of energy-absorbing spacers, e.g., rubber spacers. The camel floats in a longitudinal position at the side of a pier, both of its ends being loosely moored to the pier.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental lpurposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor. i

This invention comprises an energy-absorbing camel or fende-r.

The docking of ships against piers is rendered haphazard and dangerous by various factors such as water currents, wind, the small amount of friction between the water and the ship, the yhuge momentum of a large ship and the inexperience of some ships officers. If the ship is allowed to strike the pier, damage may be done both to the ship and to the pier. Thus, there is a need to cushion the impact between the ship and the pier and one method of doing this is by the use of an energy-absorbing device located between the ship and the pier.

Conventional floating camels do not absorb energy. Rubber fenders and other available energy-absorbing fenders can be used effectively only with bulkheads or specially installed fender systems. The hydropneumatic camel is effective but objections have been raised to its high cost and maintenance requirements.

An object of this invention is to absorb the energy of impact between a ship and the pier at which it is being docked.

Another object is to protect both ship and pier from docking injuries.

A further object is to provide an energy-absorbing camel which is simple to build, low in initial cost and maintenance requirements, easy to attach to a pier, can be built in a variety of design arrangements and sizes and is generally very flexible in application.-

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description of an example of the invention, and the novel 4features will ybe particularly pointed out in the appended claims. In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken transversely through one of the `spacers of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of another type of spacer assembly which may be employed; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded view illustrating the constructional details of the spacer assembly of FIG. 3.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 1 comprises a group of three long wooden logs, or poles, 10, 12 and 14, disposed in parallel with each other. The poles may, for example, be salvaged material such as old piles.

'Ille poles are spaced from each other by at least two groups of spacer assemblies 16; the number of groups depending on the length of the poles, The spacer assem- 3,404,534 Patented Oct. 8, 1968 blies 16 are here composed of three roughly rectangular blocks, or spacers, 17 of resilient material, such as rubber, set into -brackets 18.

FIG. 2 indicates one method which. may be used -for fastening together the poles and the spacers; any other suitable arrangement may be used. In the arrangement shown, a bracket 18 fits against each pole, e.g., 12, and is mounted ty the pole by means of a long bolt 20 which extends through the diameter of the pole 12. Each spacer 17 fits into a bracket 18 and each spacer is fastened to two brackets by means of a snubber chain 22. The chain extends through .a hole 24 which is drilled through the spacer 17. The fastening of the chain 22 to the bracket 18 may be effected -by a nut-and-bolt arrangement 26.

In a typical` embodiment, the poles may .be about one foot in diameter and about forty feet long, the poles being kept about one foot from each other. When the floating camel is forced against the pier, the blocks of rubber are compressed and absorb energy. Some energy is also absorbed by bending of the poles, and the residual energy is distributed along the pier.

Poles and pipes of different sizes than those above can be used. Shock-absorbing assemblies can be of different sizes and arrangements and different materials can be used to absorb energy, such as dash pots, springs and inated tubes and bags, for example.

FIG. 3 indicates another type of spacer assembly arrangement which may be employed with a group of three poles 10, 12, and 14. Here, the spacer assembly 30 is a rubber block fabricated from strips cut from old truck tires. The strips are the trapezoids ABCD, EFGH and JKLM. The strips form laminations having planes which are parallel to the plane of FIG. 3. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the top lamination is strip ABCD, the middle lami nation is EFGH and the lowest lamination s J KLM. The laminating pattern is Irepeated until a block of rubber is built up. The block of laminations is held firmly together by nut, 'bolt and washer arrangements, e.g., 32, extending through the block transversely to the planes of the laminations. The energy-absorbing spacer assembly 30 is fastened between the poles by means of snubber chains 34, 36 and 38 which are attached at one end to eyebolts, e.g., 40, extending through the poles and at the other end to a central nut, bolt and washer arrangement 42 extending through the spacer assembly 30. The chains 34, 36 and 38 may link with the central nut, bolt and washer arrangement 42 only in the center of the spacer block, or there may be two groups of chains, one at each side of the spacer` block, the block being retained between the chain groups.

It is evident that a cross-section taken transversely to the poles shows (see FIGS. 2 and 3, for example) that the poles are located at the vertices of an imaginary equilat eral polygon which is that polygon whose sides are equal in number to the number of poles being employed to form the camel. The spacer assemblies fall substantially within the area which the imaginary polygon encloses.

FIG. 4 shows the spacer unit 30 in an exploded view, also showing intermediate trapezoid members ABC'D, E'FGH' and JK'L'M, The rst three layers and the last three are shown in juxtaposition, respectively. Intermediate layers are omitted except for three layers from the middle which are spread apart to indicate the individuality of the layers.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, and arrangements of parts (and steps), which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

3 I claim: y 1. An energy-absorbing camel comprising, in combination:

at least three poles each spaced from and disposed in parallel with the others; at least two spacer assemblies made of energy-absorbing resilient material, said spacer assemblies comprising spacers located only between said poles so as to separate each pole from its neighbor; and means for fastening said poles and spacer units together so as t0 form a single camel wherein the poles are separated from each other by spacerassemblies and the spacer assemblies are set apart from each other; said poles, when seen in a cross-sectional view taken vtransversely to the length of said poles, `being located `at the vertices of that imaginary equilateral polygon whose sides are equal in number to the number of said poles, and

v said spacer assemblies lying substantially in the area which said equilateral polygon would enclose.

2. A camel as in claim l, wherein the poles are com posed of wood and the spacers are composed of rubber.

3. A camel as in claim 1, wherein each spacer assembly is composed of laminations of strips of resilient material fastened together to form a block of resilient material.

4. A camel as in claim 3, wherein each said strip has the form of a trapezoid.

5. A camel as in claim 4, wherein each said strip is eut from a rubber tire. y

References Cited `UNTED STATES PATENTS 2,424,635 7/1947 schwau G12-4s 2,722,906` 11/1955 Tweddeu 61-48 X'R JACOB ASHAPIRO, Primm Examiner. 

